A comprehensive Desktop Defender Beginner Guide wiki covering weapons, loot, upgrades, achievements, and progression in Desktop Defender. This version expands upon the original notes by vonekiller, with clearer structure, strategy context, and practical explanations for both beginners and end-game players.
Desktop Defender Beginner Guide Wiki
Desktop Defender is a wave-based progression shooter where your goal is to survive increasingly difficult enemy waves while upgrading your weapon, collecting loot, and unlocking new gameplay tiers through Ascension and Rebirth.
Tips and General Strategy
1. Disable Pause in Menus
Go to Settings and turn off “Pause in Menus” (third from bottom).
This ensures the game continues running even if you accidentally leave a tab open, preventing wasted time when idling in upgrade screens.
2. Early Game Priorities
Flat damage bonuses are exceptionally strong early on. Even items with negative side effects are often worth taking if they grant +Flat Damage, especially before Level 50.
3. Loot Management
Before deleting a piece of loot, check your next loot slot unlock level:
50, 60, 82, 93, 102, 111, 119, 128, 148.
If you’re close to one, wait — you might free up space without losing valuable gear.
4. Burst Mode for Achievement Grinding
If your goal is achievements rather than gameplay challenge, activate Burst Mode for 2x XP and Money. It speeds up progression drastically.
5. Don’t Rebirth Immediately
After reaching Level 150, resist rebirthing right away.
Some Mastery achievements (defeating 10,000 enemies with each weapon) are easiest when you’re at end-game power.
Use Ascend instead to retain your loot and continue grinding efficiently.
Weapons and Armory
Below is a breakdown of all known weapons, their cost, and description.
| Weapon | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bit | FREE | A simple but effective starting projectile. |
| Burst | 3 | Slightly stronger variant of Bit. |
| Blue Hole | 10 | Fires a large, slow projectile with heavy impact. |
| Radius | 20 | Launches five shots in a circle around you. |
| Bounce | 100 | Shots bounce between up to three enemies. |
| Shotgun | 200 | Fires three projectiles simultaneously. |
| Shuriken | 250 | Throws two fast shots consecutively with minimal cooldown. |
| Ballista | 400 | Fires a large, piercing arrow-like shot. |
| Flamethrower | 600 | Rapid stream of weak, scattered projectiles. |
| Arrow | 1,000 | Rapid, piercing shot effective against lined-up enemies. |
| Star | 2,000 | Strong but less accurate projectile. |
| Cogs | 5,000 | Shoots six weak piercing shots in all directions. |
| Sniper | – | High damage, single fast projectile, long cooldown. |
| Electromagnetism | – | Fires rapid, weak projectiles with strong knockback. |
| Boomerang | – | Projectile returns to you after travel. |
| Orbit | – | Projectiles orbit the player in a circular path. |
| Melody | – | Fires three consecutive oscillating shots. |
| Heart | – | Slow but piercing shot that circles enemies. |
| Revolver | – | Six fast shots in bursts followed by a cooldown. |
| Ball | – | Fast and strong bouncing projectile. |
Tip:
Radius, Cogs, and Orbit excel at crowd control, while Sniper and Ballista dominate boss or high-health enemies.
Upgrades
| Upgrade | Max Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 400 | Essential for most weapon builds. |
| Damage | Unlimited | Scales well throughout all stages. |
| Projectile Speed | 100 | Helps slow weapons like Ballista or Star. |
| Knockback | 100 | Crucial for survival builds. |
| Size | 100 | Larger hitboxes but can reduce precision. |
| Health | Unlimited | Keeps you alive during high waves. |
| XP Growth | Unlimited | Boosts long-term leveling efficiency. |
| Money Growth | Unlimited | Prioritize mid-game for faster upgrades. |
| Loot Capacity | 8 | Expands at specific levels: 1/30/234/788/1867/3645/6298. |
| Extra Bullets | 4 | Adds more projectiles at 50/10,033/20,017. |
| Flat Damage | – | Best all-round upgrade for power scaling. |
Loot Tiers
Loot is divided into ranks: E, D, C, B, A, S, and Infinity.
Each piece grants one or more positive effects, sometimes offset by a penalty.
Below are the key highlights from each tier.
Loot (E-Tier)
Basic but essential boosts, often pure positives with minor negatives.
Examples include:
- Sharp Shot – +1.5 Damage
- Strong Potion – +20% Projectile Damage
- Health Tradeoff – +25% Damage, -5 HP
Best for: Early progression, farming XP and money.
Loot (D-Tier)
Better scaling bonuses; minor drawbacks begin to appear.
Examples:
- Heavy Mace – +40% Damage, -25% Speed
- Hunter Rune – -20° Aim Cone
- Fast Learner – +50% XP, -25% Fire Rate
Best for: XP farming and damage-focused builds.
Loot (C-Tier)
Balanced bonuses ideal for mid-game grinding.
Examples:
- Multishot – +1 Projectile, -50% Damage
- Wealth Texts – +35% Money
- Sight of Light – +45% Projectile Speed
Best for: Money farming and projectile-heavy builds.
Loot (B-Tier)
High-value gear introducing major trade-offs.
Examples:
- Skull – +90% Damage, +40° Aim Cone
- Living Projectile – +1 Shot, -20% Fire Rate
- Assassin – +14 Damage, -80 HP
Best for: Aggressive damage builds or burst-focused setups.
Loot (A-Tier)
Late-game items offering extreme bonuses.
Examples:
- Beyond – +80% Damage
- Dragonborn – +2 Shots, -70% Damage
- Disaster – +100% Money, -90% XP
Best for: Specialized high-damage or economy builds.
Loot (S-Tier)
Top-tier loot providing near-endless scaling.
Examples:
- No Control – +130% Damage, +80° Aim Cone
- Justice – +50% Money and XP
- Druid – +100% Money, -60% Size
Best for: Post-Level 120 grind and mastery runs.
Loot (Infinity)
Ultra-rare and absurdly strong loot items.
Examples:
- Hand – +200% Money, -999% XP
- Wizardry – +3 Projectiles, -95% Damage
- Experiment – +18 Damage, -999 HP
Best for: Rebirth farming and challenge playthroughs.
Progression Rewards
Levels 1–89
Early unlocks focus on money, damage, and weapon variety.
Key milestones:
- Level 5 – Unlock Ascension
- Level 50 / 60 / 82 – New loot slots
- Level 75 – Unlock Sniper
- Level 89 – Unlock Electromagnetism
Levels 90–150
Advanced unlocks for high-tier weapons and loot expansion.
Key milestones:
- Level 104 – Unlock Boomerang
- Level 116 – Unlock Orbit
- Level 125 – Unlock Melody
- Level 135 – Unlock Heart
- Level 140 – Unlock Revolver
- Level 145 – Unlock Ball
- Level 150 – Unlock Rebirth
Ascension Guide
When you Ascend, you reset:
- Money
- Wave progress
- Money-related upgrades
You keep:
- Level
- Loot
- Weapons
- Ascendium (purple currency)
Each Ascension permanently increases:
- XP Multiplier
- Money Multiplier
- Ascendium gain
Pro Tip:
Only Ascend when your progress bar shows 100% completion (the “%” symbol disappears). Ascending early yields weaker returns.
Rebirth Guide
Rebirth is a full reset.
You lose:
- Everything — XP, loot, weapons, bonuses
You gain:
- Permanent Rebirth multipliers to XP and Money
- Rebirth 1 → 1.25x XP / 1.25x Money
Advice:
Avoid rebirthing until you’ve completed all weapon Mastery achievements. Once rebirthed, progress toward those resets entirely.
Achievements
Achievements are divided into Progress, Combat, and Mastery categories.
Wave Milestones
Unlocked naturally as you progress (Wave 3 to Wave 100).
Ascension Series
Ascend 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 times.
Best achieved mid-game when your upgrades are well-rounded.
Hits
Damage milestones ranging from 30 to 1000+ per hit.
These occur passively later on due to exponential scaling.
Level-Based Achievements
Earned automatically during normal leveling — Level 3 through Level 150.
Money (Rich Series)
Accumulate total earnings:
100K → 1M → 10M → 100M → 1B
Time Played
Ranges from 1 hour to 100 hours.
You can idle progress by leaving the game running overnight.
Weapon Collection
Unlock all 21 weapons to complete the “Weapons VII” achievement.
Mastery Achievements
Each weapon has a mastery goal:
Defeat 10,000 enemies using that weapon.
These should be done before rebirthing, as they reset completely afterward.
You can switch weapons mid-Ascend runs to finish multiple masteries efficiently.
Desktop Defender’s depth lies in its balance between loot optimization, progression timing, and strategic ascensions. The best path to end-game success involves:
- Prioritizing Flat Damage and XP Growth early
- Stacking Money Growth and Loot Efficiency mid-game
- Timing Ascension and Rebirth properly for long-term scaling
Use this guide as a foundation for efficient progression and complete achievement runs